A customer’s warning about an ailing puppy at Sunshine Puppies in Largo, Pinellas County, was followed the next day by the animal’s death, and Pinellas County Animal Services has issued a citation to the store owner, officials said.

The incident involved a single puppy and one customer. According to the customer, Brittney Adams, she visited the Sunshine Puppies retail location on Ulmerton Road last Wednesday and observed the animal in visible distress. Adams said she alerted store employees to the puppy’s condition and described its behavior to them.

Adams told investigators and reporters that the puppy “looked extremely tired and was having trouble breathing.” She recounted watching the animal inside its enclosure and said it appeared unsteady: “It started to use the crate wall to stable, like, stabilize itself and try to walk over to me, and then when it did, it plopped down really heavy,” Adams said. “It did the exact same thing that it was doing in its cage.”

Pinellas County Animal Services confirmed it investigated the incident. The department said its findings centered on the store’s response, or lack of response, after Adams reported the puppy’s condition. County officials concluded that Sunshine Puppies failed to obtain proper veterinary care for the animal and issued a citation to the store owner on Tuesday.

The puppy died the day after Adams alerted store employees, officials said. County records show the sequence of events began with the customer’s Wednesday visit, was followed by the animal’s death the next day, and culminated in the citation issued the following Tuesday by Pinellas County Animal Services.

Adams said she attempted to help within the limits of the law and was left heartbroken when she learned the puppy had died. “When it’s an animal that you directly have contact with and that you tried everything that you could within the confines of the law, to hear that it had passed away, it’s devastating,” she said.

Pinellas County Animal Services handled the investigation and the subsequent enforcement action as part of its role overseeing animal welfare in the county. The department did not provide further detail about any additional penalties or next steps in the enforcement process beyond the citation for failing to obtain veterinary care.

The case has drawn local attention to how retail pet stores respond when animals show signs of illness. Local reporting by FOX 13 Tampa Bay covered the citation and the county’s investigation; the original story is available through the outlet’s reporting on the incident.

Sunshine Puppies, a retail operation on Ulmerton Road in Largo, was cited by the county following the investigation. County officials said the citation was issued to the store owner after the department reviewed the customer’s report and the subsequent death of the puppy.

The department’s action serves as the formal enforcement step stemming from the investigation into the specific incident involving the one puppy and one customer who reported the animal’s distress. Pinellas County Animal Services confirmed that it will pursue enforcement consistent with county animal welfare regulations.

Source

Original reporting: view the original article.